KICS

What KICS is

KICS is a free tool for analyzing infrastructure as code across Terraform, Kubernetes, and CloudFormation. It supports custom policies, so teams can apply checks suited to their own requirements. KICS also detects secrets and scans pull requests, bringing infrastructure checks into code review. IDE integration provides another way to use it while editing. The software runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows. KICS is offered by Checkmarx, a company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Ramat Gan, Israel. Its listed pricing model is free, and a free plan is available. Teams can consider whether its supported infrastructure formats and platforms match their environment, and whether policy customization, secret detection, and pull request scanning fit their review process.

Who it suits

KICS suits teams reviewing Terraform, Kubernetes, or CloudFormation infrastructure code, especially those that want custom policies, secret detection, and pull request scanning. IDE integration may also suit developers who want checks while editing.

Getting started

1. Visit the KICS product website.
2. Choose the Linux, macOS, or Windows environment where you work.
3. Use the listed analysis options for supported infrastructure formats.

Verdict

KICS combines infrastructure analysis with custom policies, secret detection, and pull request scanning. Its free plan and support for Linux, macOS, and Windows may suit teams whose work uses its listed formats.